Monday, May 15, 2017

How does Andrea do it? The day job, the podcast, and a
tremendous amount of impressive knitting. I’m more like Andrew at the moment,
managing a row or two if I’m lucky.

Having him there on the sofa, a beginning knitter, is
certainly one of the things that distinguishes this program from the crowd. I am keenly
looking forward to the next episode, in which I trust I will be listed as a
sponsor. And meanwhile, I am catching up steadily on the backlog. At first, I
plucked the plums – Oliver Henry, James Norbury, the Boyfriend Sweater. Now I
am watching earnestly in sequence.

James Norbury appeared on an American television quiz program where there were three men claiming to be James Norbury, and a panel questioning them. Easy for us, who know what James Norbury looked like. If I should be plucked back in time to sit on the panel, my question would be: Where is Fair Isle? James Norbury could answer precisely. Could the others? But it was all rather silly.

My row-or-two today took me to the short-row sequence
at the shoulder of the Polliwog. I suspect this is the secret of its
slip-over-the-head-ability. I am greatly looking forward to telling you more.

The new IK turned up, without stirring my blood in any
way. There are some fine shawls, but I am afraid the world is full of fine
shawls at the moment.

I was seriously tempted by the back page, the wooden
yarn bowl. I did some googling, and found some beauties – I think I would
really prefer something more bowl-like, opener and wider, than the one IK
features. And there are many such.

But do I really need or want such a thing? I would be
very glad to hear from anyone who has one and loves it. I was thinking along these
lines when I went to the EYF, but all the ones I saw there were ceramic. I want
wood, if I want one at all.

17 comments:

There are some lovely wooden yarn bowls on etsy. But the wooden ones tend to be far more expensive than the pottery. As I use mostly center pull balls, I seldom need a bowl, but now you have tempted me!

I have a ceramic and the little hook at the end that keeps the yarn from flying out of the bowl, continually breaks. My hubby has glued it together so many times and i'm done with it now. If I ever get another it will be wood.

I have a lovely porcelain bowl, celedon green and reminiscent of ginkgo leaves. Though it is not technically a yarn bowl. It holds a skein of fingering yarn beautifully and keeps my yarn from dancing away and keeps it out of the pets' way. It also gives me a place to toss stray stitch markers

Yes, indeed, the world is full of fine shawls at the moment. I do believe that we are experiencing a golden age of knitted shawl design. No sooner have I begun one exquisite project, than four or five new ones, equally exquisite, cross my path. Even without approaching the complexity of the Princess, they are interesting, striking, and worth the knitter's time.

Dave Yocom makes particularly fine yarn bowls out of a wide variety of beautiful woods. They are sanded silky-smooth with a very light finish and are generally lightweight. Many of his bowls have cutouts to feed yarn, but I prefer bowls without cutouts as I use them for snacks too. It also makes the bowl a bit more durable, I think. I have several sizes, some small enough to take in my knitting bag.

I got a wooden yarn bowl as a gift from my daughter in law. http://www.belindaharrisreid.co.uk/yarnbowl.html I use it for projects where only one ball is in use, lace or something plain. Not a lot of help when knitting fair isle or my present project crocheting stripes. It seems to work well and keeps my yarn from rolling around and looks lovely when not in use. Although I tend to fill it with yarn ends, needles and then have to have a tidy before I can use it again. Wonderful daughter in law!

Yarn bowls work best with centre pull balls. Make sure yours is heavy enough to resist the pull of knitting, otherwise it will skitter about. I have a lovely ceramic one made for me by my American "daughter" who was our AFS student 15 years ago. I am currently knitting for her first baby, due in July. CarolGilham

Yes, there certainly is a munificence of shawls. And socks and top-down seamless knitting. I began to feel inadequate as a knitter when back stitch was seemingly replaced by mattress stitch. Having been born at the end of the 50s I was brought up with the James Norbury style of knitting and still prefer knitting in that style with straight needles, flat pieces and seaming for added structure.

I am so pleased you have discovered Andrea and Andrew and enjoy sharing in your enthusiasm for what they do so brilliantly. Andrea's approach to knitting has been affirming for me and I have learned from her not to be afraid of the Alice Starmore patterns of the 1980s and how it is possible to adapt them by adding waist shaping and a modified drop shoulder. A breath of fresh air!

Jerry's yarn bowls are available at My Sister Knits in Fort Collin, CO. They are lovely. I splurged on one and am amazed by it. MSK is an amazing shop and offers wonderful service. The owners Julie Luckasen (julie@mysisterknits.com)

I love my wood yarn bowl! The looks, the feel and how well it works. I have two cats and the bowl seems to "hide" the balls of yarn in it from them. I can pick up my project and go from room to room or outside with it. And since I have tile throughout the house it has lasted much longer than my ceramic one. I use both balls of yarn and "cakes" of yarn in it without a problem. Have not used it for Fair Isle however. It fits in my knitting bag and I have taken it to knitting gatherings and works fine from table or floor. It is pretty and darn useful...love it.